In October, King Charles made the decision to officially evict his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, from Royal Lodge. As well as relinquishing all of his official royal titles, Andrew agreed to leave his mansion, following renewed concerns regarding his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Now, one royal expert has suggested The King might end up regretting his decision to evict Andrew.
Writing for the Daily Mail, royal expert Richard Kay explained, "Aides had hoped that the summary action of The King in forcing his brother to quit the lavish property, as well as stripping him of his princely honorific and other titles, would cauterize what was fast becoming a royal crisis."
Kay continued, "Instead, the Andrew problem is now being perceived as the extreme manifestation of a wider culture of excess and questionable royal entitlement."
Kay also suggested that, within the Royal Family, "there is growing discomfort that the arrangements for their velvet-lined lives are about to come under intense scrutiny."
Discussing the matter with Kay, one of King Charles's former aides explained, "Seeing what The King can do with a swish of his famously ill-functioning pen has emboldened critics who would like to shake up the whole royal system. They sense vulnerability."
According to Kay, Andrew's "Royal Lodge saga" has only drawn more attention to King Charles's property portfolio. As a result, "it has highlighted just how many properties are at the family's disposal across the country," the outlet reported.
Per the Daily Mail, "When Charles became King three years ago, there was speculation about whether he would crack down on his relatives living in grand addresses for free or just paying modest or peppercorn rent." Kay continued, "That has not happened. Instead, the scandal over Andrew has triggered a full-scale housing crisis for the royals."
As for whether or not King Charles will actually end up regretting Andrew's eviction remains to be seen.
